


It's only forever. (It's not long at all.)

by sulkyselkie



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, KuroKuratober 2020, Labyrinth AU, M/M, One Shot, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sulkyselkie/pseuds/sulkyselkie
Summary: Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, he has fought his way to the castle at the heart of the labyrinth to take back the stolen child. But when offered his dreams upon a silver platter, will Kurapika waver?
Relationships: Kuroro Lucifer | Chrollo Lucifer/Kurapika
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	1. It's only forever. (It's not long at all.)

**Author's Note:**

> If you've seen the movie Labyrinth, I think you know where I'm going with this. I misread the title of somebody's fanfiction the other day as "It's Only Forever," which somehow immediately made me start thinking of the climactic scene from Labyrinth, but with the chain pair replacing Sarah and the Goblin King.

The doors to the throne room open, and Kurapika's goal sits directly before him. On a sumptuous ebony throne sits the man who has challenged, pestered, and tempted Kurapika for the past 13 hours.

The Spider-Demon King.

A young man with the terrible, dark beauty of a fallen angel. Onyx eyes brimming with curiosity and an unquenchable thirst. Pale, sensual lips curved in a tantalizing smile. A man who seemed fashioned from Kurapika's deepest, darkest wishes and desires, never before spoken.

And the man who had stolen Pairo in the moment of Kurapika's greatest weakness.

Kurapika had little experience caring for children, let alone ones requiring as much care as Pairo. His patience had frayed until he'd snapped, crying out in the dark for the Spider-Demons of myth to snatch away the fretful child.

Little had he known that the Spider-Demons had been far more than a myth.

The next 13 hours that had followed had been like something out of a dream as he frantically searched for a way to the heart of this fantastical labyrinth. All he had thought of was making his way to the castle to challenge the King and apologize to Pairo. He had to make this right.

"I have come for the child," Kurapika announces, voice wavering faintly. He is exhausted, nervous. 

"Really? The child you consigned to the care of the rapacious Spider-Demons?" The King retorts. His smile is sharp as a knife's edge, a waning crescent moon falling into darkness.

Shame and guilt stabs at Kurapika's heart. "The same," he states, voice softening unconsciously. "I renounce my uncaring, thoughtless impulse, and would claim him and return us both to our home."

The King peers at him, silent, onyx eyes taking his measure. It feels as though he is peering into the depths of Kurapika's heart. The scornful expression of a few moments prior is gone, a more thoughtful and curious countenance taking its place.

"How hard it must have been," the King muses. "Barely more than a child yourself, and yet saddled with a task beyond your skills. It was a burden you hadn't asked for, yet it was made your responsibility by those who should have known better. The selfish whims of adults can be so cruel, can they not?"

Kurapika could only stare, his throat feeling tight. _How can he know..._  


Another smile curves the King's mouth, more pitying and understanding than before. "No one can blame you for walking away," he assures Kurapika, his voice as smooth and rich as honey. The words, just as honeyed, telling Kurapika what he had dreamed of hearing, once upon a time.

But far too late now, Spider-Demon King.

For Kurapika wasn't the same foolish child he'd been 13 hours ago.

Kurapika glances down at the child resting on the Spider-Demon King's lap. Pairo, eyes closed, rests against the King's sable robe, sleeping innocently despite the tension thick in the air.

 _I will make this right, Pairo_ , Kurapika silently vows. _We'll go home together, and this will be nothing more than a dream. I'll be stronger, I'll never falter again. No matter how hard it gets. I promise you._ His eyes burn as he holds back frustrated tears.

"Why don't you forget all of this?" The King suggests, his gaze never wavering from Kurapika. His eyes are covetous and tender. "I can offer you your dreams, everything that you want." 

The words hover in the air like smoke, curling around Kurapika. He swallows hard at the flutter in his stomach.

"Nobody has ever offered you that, have they? I ask for little in exchange. Just let me rule you." The words fall from his lips like a light rain, soothing and soft. "Love me, obey me, and I will be your slave."

He makes it sound so easy.

Somehow, Kurapika knows how to defeat the King and escape the labyrinth. If he spoke the words, this would all end. The bubble would burst, the dance halt. The Spider-Demon King and his eerily beautiful castle, the ever-shifting labyrinth, and the creatures who'd helped him come this far...all would fade away, dissolving like mist before the sun. He could wake up from this dream and bring Pairo home.

And yet.

Some part of Kurapika struggles against this. The repressed, lonely part, who had always dreamed of adventure and romance. Here are mysteries to be unraveled, and companions to spend time with, and a man as beautiful as the starry night sky who pledges his eternal devotion and promises to make his dreams come true.

How easy it would be.

Heart pounding, he meets the Spider-Demon King's eyes. And in that gaze, he sees triumph. In a moment of startling clarity, Kurapika realizes that this had all been a game. A struggle of wills. And the King believes that he has won, ensnaring Kurapika in his web.

The Spider-Demon King holds absolute dominion over the labyrinth. It--and all who dwell within--are his to command, his to rule. But how boring absolute control is, if none rise to oppose. The prospect of an outsider, someone with a will subject to none, must have been beyond tantalizing. 

Kurapika squeezes his eyes shut, memories of the past 13 hours flashing before his eyes. The King had appeared several times through Kurapika's travels, testing and teasing the blond. He had made his attraction increasingly apparent as time wore on.

There is truth to the King's words. That he desires Kurapika, there is no doubt. That he would devote himself to his consort is evident. His power to bring Kurapika's wishes to life is obvious. Kurapika could have the life he'd read about in storybooks.

But there would be no freedom. Kurapika would be chained to him, to his egotistic will forever. Kurapika would be another jewel in his collection, treasured to be sure, but kept locked away and jealously guarded. A trophy to showcase the King's absolute victory and might, a testament to his prowess and charm.

_I am not a challenge nor a conquest._

Kurapika draws in a shaking breath. There would be no going back after this. _Life can't be easy_ , he reminds himself. His eyes flutter open, locking gazes with the smirking King on his ebony throne. The voice that issues forth from Kurapika's lips seems like a stranger's, firmer and more resolute than he had ever remembered being, drawing upon something as yet untapped.

"My will is as strong as yours. You have no power over me."

_~ Don't tell me truth hurts...it hurts like hell. ~_


	2. The alternate ending!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I offered this and the people have requested it! Please enjoy this, er.... *waves hands* Whatever this is.

Kurapika draws in a shaking breath. There would be no going back after this.  _ Life can't be easy _ , he reminds himself. His eyes flutter open, locking gazes with the smirking King on his ebony throne. The voice that issues forth from Kurapika's lips seems like a stranger's, firmer and more resolute than he had ever remembered being, drawing upon something as yet untapped. 

"Sure, why not."

A minute passes. Then two. The Spider-Demon King stares, as if he's unable to process what has just happened.

"Well, that was easy," he says at length, his onyx eyes puzzled.

"As long as one of your Spider-Demons is able to look after Pairo--he will get his own room, won't he?--I'll gladly stay. I'm sure living in a castle will provide Pairo with all sorts of opportunities we'd never get at home."

"Of course," the Spider-Demon King says, bewildered. He seems to be searching for words, but Kurapika ignores him and proceeds.

“We’ll need to childproof the castle, of course. And perhaps some redecorating is in order? This room would be much more appealing with better lighting and some plants.”

The Spider-Demon King gapes like a fish, his index finger slowly rising in a subconscious effort to beg Kurapika to wait. But Kurapika doesn’t stop.

"I'll be glad to love and obey you as part of our marriage vows," he announces, slowly walking towards the throne. "Just as you'll be glad to uphold your words." Kurapika reaches the throne, leaning into the King's personal space, careful to give Pairo room. He traces a slender finger down the side of the King's face, before stopping on his plush lips. Kurapika's voice is husky, low and dominant. "You'll be a good slave, won't you,  _ kitten _ ?"

Eyes wide, the Spider-Demon King wonders if for once his mouth has written a check his ass can't cash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pardon me while I roll on the ground screaming at my own audacity here.

**Author's Note:**

> ::hides face in embarrassment:: I have no idea where this came from. I've been refraining from writing KuroKura because I don't think I'm quite up to the task, but then this happened. It's actually been a long time since I've written anything new, so I am very rusty.
> 
> While I didn't initially set out to create anything for KuroKuratober, I suppose this fits under prompt #7, "villain." I hope I depicted this well!
> 
> ...I also have a horrible tongue-in-cheek alternate ending I could post if anybody's interested.


End file.
